A day before Sachin Tendulkar's final day in cricket, I was asked by a television channel if there had been a grander farewell for a sportsperson. I offered the standard answer: few sports could beat the combined scale of size and emotion afforded by cricket's fan base, and no other sportsperson has been adored so obsessively for so long by so many people.

But being in attendance for his final day in cricket brought home the more profound part of the truth. Perhaps no sportsman, certainly no cricketer, has loved his sport so obsessively, so absolutely, and for so long as Sachin Tendulkar has done. There were thousands of moist eyes and heavy hearts around the ground, and millions more around the world, but no loss was greater than that of Tendulkar himself.

When great sportsmen leave the stage, more so ones as well loved as Tendulkar, they take part of us with them. But for him, he was leaving his very essence behind. Fans spoke of the emptiness that followed his departure, but can it be greater than the one in Tendulkar's heart? Can we even comprehend it?

Anjali, his wife, came closest. Cricket can do without Tendulkar, she said, but can Tendulkar do without cricket?

Tendulkar's final performance in the India colours will count among his finest: the 74 runs he scored in his final innings will be as special to his fans as many of his hundreds are, but it was his farewell speech that moved millions to tears. It wasn't profound or insightful, it didn't contain a vision for cricket, or even dazzling oratory. It was merely a thanksgiving.

But it was lifted by its stirring earnestness, the poignancy of the moment, and most of all, by its intimacy. In thanking everyone, from his father to his fans, Tendulkar revealed more of himself than he has ever done in the past.

He spoke for nearly 20 minutes but he didn't need a written speech because the words came from within; and the words were moving because they carried emotions fans could relate to. For a naturally shy person, this was a virtuoso performance. But in the truest sense, this was no performance. "It is getting difficult," he said at the beginning, "but I will manage." And then he was in the zone. The speech contained his signature qualities: humility, grace, simplicity and composure.

Brian Lara, Tendulkar's great rival, left with these words, delivered with a flourish: "Did I entertain you?" he asked the fans in Bridgetown after West Indies had bowed out of their home World Cup with a loss to England. The crowd roared back its approval.

Tendulkar's final words were a heartfelt thank you. "Sachin, Sachin will reverberate in my ears till I stop breathing," he said. The crowd wept.

As photographers crowded him after the speech, standing high in the Garware Pavilion I pictured in my mind the perfect finish. Tendulkar breaking free of the throng that surrounded him and taking a lap of the ground all by himself. Just him on his beloved turf, and nothing between him and his fans. A purer finale was hard to imagine.

But of course he was never going to be left alone. Photographers, reporters, administrators, policemen, hangers-on surrounded him as he began his final lap, and then there was the obligatory hoisting-on-the-shoulders by his team-mates. Still, it was a quite a finish.

“ Fans spoke of the emptiness that followed Tendulkar's departure, but can it be greater than the one in Tendulkar's heart?

I have been fortunate to have experienced first-hand some big moments in cricket in the last 15 years. I watched this very ground throb all day and then explode when MS Dhoni's thundering six won India the 2011 World Cup. But that emotion was triumphalist, and somewhat feral. Journalism trains you to soak up the atmosphere on such occasions, but inures you from being affected by it.

This was different. The intimacy, the deeply personal nature of the occasion, melted your defence. Resistance would have been futile and artificial. You were glad to be there, and to surrender to the moment.

India is given to exaggeration, and the way everyone was cashing in on Tendulkar's final series had begun to grate, but there was no artifice here. Cricket, on that day, became incidental, and it didn't matter anymore that the feebleness of the West Indians had reduced the contest to a mockery. It became what it was meant to be: it was now between Tendulkar and his fans.

It was pointed out that none of the recently retired Indian greats received the send-off they deserved, but to begrudge Tendulkar his farewell on that count would be missing the plot. His story is unique. You could argue that it is an outcome of circumstances, but it is hard to imagine any cricketer having the kind of connection with his fans that he did. It wasn't the sort of craze fans find themselves possessed by for rock stars and film stars. It was love, true and deep, a sense he was theirs, and a gratefulness for the joy he brought them.

At the press conference the following day, Tendulkar spoke about not having yet reconciled to the idea of not playing cricket again. He didn't know, he said, why it hadn't sunk in. "Kahin na kahin toh main khel loonga." In cold words, it translates to "Somewhere, somehow, I will find a way to play." But the translation doesn't come close to capturing the longing and poignancy of those words. Spoken with a wistful smile, they offered a glimpse to the hole in his life.

After saying goodbye to the crowd on Saturday, he went - and mercifully he was allowed to go alone - to bid farewell to the "22 yards that had been my life". And it was while he was talking to the wicket, he said casually at the press conference the next day, that he began to feel really emotional.

Talking to the wicket? It was impossible in that bedlam that passed for a press conference - you could only get a word in if you could shout down 15 others - to venture a follow up, but you got it.

Here was a man who spoke of cricket in his sleep, who regarded his bats as his fellow travellers, who saw every cricket ground as his temple, and he was now speaking of talking to the pitch. They conferred godhood on him to glow in his glory, but the truth is that he was the biggest worshipper the game could ever find, and in that lay the foundation of Tendulkar's greatness.

The photograph of Tendulkar in this article is one I have come to love. It is from a training session during the 2012 IPL. He still retains his cherubic look, but the face looks lived-in here; the hair is flowing longer than usual, the eyes are shut, fists clenched around an imaginary bat, and he is rehearsing a shot. His team-mates are a blur behind him, and he seems oblivious to them. He looks more a Sufi saint in a trance than a cricketer: it's a picture of utter submission to his craft.

The speech, soaked in by millions, transcended airwaves, percolated through TV screens, poured out through newspapers next mornings, and got permanently embedded in the internet. Yes, it wasn't profound, or filled with clever anecdotes. But it was from the bottom of his heart and everybody who's ever loved the game. How else can you explain grown men in tears re-reading it for the nth time. There were others that were perhaps bigger entertainers, and there will be more down the line. And someday his records will be gone, but no one, repeat no one, will have touched so many people, melted so many hearts and belonged to so many for so long. The detractors strangely found tears flowing down too. Those that were baying for his blood for the last 2 years were trying to hide tears. The journalists from New York Times, trying to fathom what this was all about had his eyes moist. The sincerety, the simplicity and the passion of the man touched them all. Goodbye, Sachin and god bless.

Posted by
Daison
on (November 19, 2013, 8:31 GMT)
- Featured comment

"Tendulkar's final words were a heartfelt thank you. "Sachin, Sachin will reverberate in my ears till I stop breathing," he said. The crowd wept." - Sambit, you are making our eyes moist again!!!
Only once during Sachin's speech the crowd disagreed with him, when he said, "my speech is getting too long and kinda boring" - we wanted him to go on talking and never stop.
It was all a grand retirement party until the final wicket fell. And when we saw tears in his eyes when he was walking through the guard of honor it became really personal for each and everyone. The party became personal farewell. And it was grown men and women weeping - in the ground and around world in front of their TV sets. How can we not weep when our childhood friend/brother is saying goodbye!!!

Posted by
Naresh
on (November 21, 2013, 10:34 GMT)

If SACHIN had played his last test match away from India, his fans would have
been ROBBED of seeing him for the last time. In all I think the farewell ended well
on his terms. He DESERVED it. He earned it. He gave everything to the GAME!!!

Posted by
Mradul
on (November 21, 2013, 8:03 GMT)

When i was about 8 years old and started watching and understanding international cricket i read a lot about Sunny Gavaskar. That time he was the ultimate player to have come from India closely followed by Kapil. When Sachin emerged around the same time our thought was how can a Kid only about 6-7 years older to us be thrown into face Imran and Wasim? Me and my brother instantly felt connected with him and started watching him intently. Over the years he became the national icon and our love and respect for him kept increasing. It was the time i used to watch the match only until Sachin was batting. Now on 16th when he was saying goodbye i couldn't hold my tears, my Wife was not impressed though. I told her i can't explain it to you why i felt like crying or was depressed for most part of the morning. Its not a movie where you forget everything once it is over! Its my entire childhood memories! I mean, its apna Sachin, thats it!

Posted by
Boopathy
on (November 20, 2013, 11:34 GMT)

Hope he comes back as a Indian coach soon...

Posted by
p.g
on (November 20, 2013, 8:57 GMT)

a heart spoke and millions of hearts responded. it was as simple as that, and so poignantly captured by sambit in words. for once, it was not his bat that did the talking and to such effect.

Posted by
sunil
on (November 20, 2013, 5:41 GMT)

6. I'm not superstitious but admit to have done silly things like not moving from my chair for hours or not switching on TV while reading commentary on Cricinfo when him batting so well with the fear of jinxing him. I don't claim of stopping to watch cricket after his retirement but I'll always miss Sachin on field "The fieriest and fairest battler the world cricket has known" Thank you Cricinfo and everyone for giving Master the fitting farewell he deserved. MASTER ...Take a bow !!! END OF AN ERA !!!

Posted by
sunil
on (November 20, 2013, 5:38 GMT)

5. I have always been able to relate myself to Sachin in different situations. I have been able to get me out of the worst situations just reminding myself of the fighting ability of my hero who would come back from his father's funeral to score an emotional century in world cup it was the epitome of love for the game and the country. to be cont...

Posted by
sunil
on (November 20, 2013, 5:37 GMT)

4. I don't think of him just numbers be it his 100-100 or his record test score (whatever it is) or 200 tests or under rate him for not achieving 300. They are no doubt testament of what he has achieved but he has achieved far more than these numbers he has gone beyond boundaries to win millions of Indian, Pakistani, Srilankan, Bangladeshi Australian, English, NZ, Southafrican, WI and hearts of cricket lovers all around the Globe and someone in future might take over his records of most runs or most test centuries or the rest but it would be very hard to emulate what he has done all these years and impossible to take away his love from his fanfare ...to be cont...

Posted by
sunil
on (November 20, 2013, 5:36 GMT)

3. I never doubt his timing of retirement. I never thought he should have retired earlier after world cup win. Never ever I doubted his ability during his leanest phase over the last 2 years. He always hit hard to his critics in a best possible manner and that is with his bat over the last 24 years. He has never spoken against anyone over 24 year career span. Whoever doubted his abilities had to eat their words be it Sanjay Manjarekar or Chappell Brothers or so many others who have tried to attack him during his rough period only for him to answer them back with his bat. Last 2 years perhaps his leanest phase which he couldn't come out goes on to show his fallibility and more so human and all more so adorable. .. to be continued

550,000,000

The approximate number of people in India today who had not been born when Sachin Tendulkar made his Test debut in 1989 (calculated from
these figures). His batting has been so erotically outstanding that the global population has increased by almost 2 billion during his career, with the biggest increase, understandably, in India itself.